Cadaver donation in the department of morphology of the ULPGC

Abstract

The aim of the study was to know the evolution of the cadaver donation for teaching purposes in the Faculty of Health Sciences of the ULPGC, and if the donor profile has suffered modifications along time. We carried out an analysis of the data available since 1980 in the department of morphology. It was studied: a) number of donations, b) number of entries per year, c) ave rage time between the donation and entry into the department, d) number of rejected cadavers and the most frequent cause of rejection, and e) donor profile. It was observed an increase in the number of donors around 2000, being the year with the highest number of donations 2008 and 2012. the meantime between dona tion and reception of the body was between 4 and 6 years and the principal reason of cadaver rejection was metastatic carcinoma. In relation to the donor profile, the nationality of the majority of donors was Spanish, followed by English and German. A lower proportion of donors were from American, African and Asian countries. It has been a variation in the proportion of Spanish and foreign donors since 2004. there were no differences in rela tion with the sex, but it was observed a decrease in the age at the time of the donation in the last years. In summary, it has been a change in the number of dona tions since 2000 and in the profile of the donor since the 2004, being the current donor profile younger and predominantly Spanish